


Home, Take 2

by smolassassinchildx (smolassassinchild)



Series: Out of the Black--Old Series [4]
Category: Battlestar Galactica (2003), Firefly
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fusion, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-05-23
Updated: 2009-05-23
Packaged: 2017-10-03 05:49:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,372
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smolassassinchild/pseuds/smolassassinchildx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Helo's pretty sure they don't need to worry about the Alliance destroying them, they're doing a pretty good job of it themselves and he is determined to stop it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Home, Take 2

Day 7, 1800 hours

Ba-dun.

Ba-dun.

Ba-dun.

The sound of the ball smacking against the wall and slamming back into her hands sounded like a heartbeat. Repeating over and over again, echoing around the empty cargo bay. The only other sound was the aggravated buzz of fluorescent lights that sputtered, threatening to plunge the room into darkness but never actually doing so.

“What’re you doing down here?”

Kara heard the voice but the words didn’t seem to register with her. She stepped back with her right leg, ball clutched in her right hand, elbow back. She rocked her weight forward onto her left foot and used the momentum to hurl the ball against the wall.

Ba-

It ricocheted off the wall and returned to her hands with a smack.

-Dun.

“I was thinking about putting a pyramid court down here,” she said, mostly to herself but she did have company in the room. “There’s room for it. No one to play with though.”

“Kara.” Lee’s voice was soft as he stepped towards her. She slammed the ball against the wall to drown out the sound of his footsteps.

“Stay away from me, Lee.” Her voice held the slightest hint of a threat, but mostly she was fighting to keep the tears back.

One week. Sam had been gone for one week, and for one week she and Lee had been doing this pathetic dance. For a week, she dealt with the gnawing hole in her heart, mentally cutting herself for not coming up with some way to get Sam out of there; for a week he’d watch her self-destruct and come to try to comfort her and she wanted his comfort, and then there was the guilt and it started all over again. Why had it been so much easier to cheat on a living man than a dead one? 

Lee continued towards her, undisrupted by her words. “You can’t stay down here forever.”

“I mean it, Lee. Stay away.” She kept her gaze firmly away from him, focused on nothing but the ball she held between her hands. “Because this is just going to go the exact same way it did yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that one too.”

“I know… I know this is something you need to work though. Something I told you to work through,” his voice sounded like a schoolboy reciting his times tables to a teacher, tedious and tired. “I just hate to see you hurting like this.”

“Well it sucks for me, too,” she snapped, throwing all of her anger into the ball. Her target this time was not the wall. Rather, the ball landed squarely against Lee’s stomach, eliciting a sharp outlet of air as he stumbled back a step. “Frak!” her hands curled into fists, fingernails digging against the flesh of her palm. “Frak, Lee, I’m sorry. I just can’t do this now. Every time I’m around you... I’m just not ready to deal with you right now.”

Lee bent to pick up the ball and turned it over in his hands. “Is there anything I can do?”

Kara stood silent, watching him. He genuinely wanted to help her; he genuinely loved her; and she genuinely wanted him to just take away this pain so that she wouldn’t have to deal with it anymore. “Yeah. You can leave me the frak alone.” With that, she pushed past him and disappeared up the stairs, narrowly not-colliding with Helo in her haste.

Day 7, 2130 hours

“Is...” Ellen had to stop herself. She had said only one word upon entering the room and she had to censor her frakking language. “…he sleeping in here tonight?”

She’d been standing in the doorway to the bunk she shared with Saul, a tiny metal room with two beds pushed together to make one.  For five minutes she’d stood there, watching him as he sat with his back against the wall, the small child cradled in his arms while he gruffly crooned that song.

“Caprica’s had him since we got on this bucket. I thought she should have a night off, and I wanted to spend a little time with my boy.”

Ellen sauntered over to the bed and lowered herself down beside him, dropping her voice to a more seductive tone. “That’s a shame, because I had a few ideas about tonight that didn’t involve babysitting.”

He glanced up at her with the briefest flash of desire in his eye that faded as quickly as it arrived. “It’s just one night, Ellen.”

“What about the nursery? I heard Laura and Sharon say they were setting up a nursery for Hera in one of the bunks.” She draped an arm around his shoulders, her lips brushing against the side of his neck.

“We need a crib for him first. I don’t want Liam sleeping on one of these beds by himself. He might fall out and crack his head open.” He turned to look at her. “Besides, it’d do you some good, you haven’t even held him since we’ve been here.”

She sat back, considering the tiny being that was half the man she loved and half another woman. “I think I’ll pass.” She grimaced.

“What’s the matter?” Tigh’s brow furrowed, watching her.

“We never had any children.” She didn’t quite know what reaction she expected from him. She was hoping for anger; fighting tended to lead to fantastic frakking. It was a means to an end.

And she would be sorely disappointed.

“Back when I was gone all the time and you were sleeping around?” He was even censoring his language around that damned baby. If it was only them in the room he wouldn’t be talking that way, hell they wouldn’t be talking. “We would have been awful parents.”

“And just what is it that suddenly made you into a good father?” she asked, folding her arms. “Did playing house with the woman who is practically your daughter-”

“‘Practically my daughter?’ That’s rich considering some of your escapades on New Caprica,” he snapped, only after he’d checked to make sure the baby was asleep.

Ellen shot to her feet, voice rising. “Those were an entirely different set of circumstances, Saul.”

“Keep it down, will you,” he reprimanded halfway between a shush and a growl.

Cocking her hip to one side and looking down at him, she could see the color rising in his cheeks. “With all this rage, isn’t it a shame the baby is sleeping in here tonight?”

“You’ll still be mad at me tomorrow, Ellen,” he said, using her name to put a period on the conversation.

She wouldn’t satisfy him with a huff, as she turned to leave. Her heels clicked violently against the metal floors as she strode off down the hallway, passing Helo and Hera as she went.

Day 8, 0745 hours

“Frak!” Sharon shouted. Dragging the back of her hand across her forehead, she traded the beads of sweat for grease stains.

“What is it?” Dee asked leaning on the railing from the upper level of the engine room. She felt desperately in need of a shower. The muggy heat made her shirt cling to her in outstandingly unpleasant ways; and, unlike the woman at work, she wasn’t about to strip down to her bra.

Sharon shook her head. “I know enough engine basics to keep us in the air, but this is just beyond me. We’re lucky we didn’t blow ourselves up on that last jump.” She began to scale the metal stairs. “I think our best bet is to put in a call to Serenity. See if we can borrow Chief and Kaylee for a while.”

“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea,” Dee said, stepping back so Sharon could join her on the platform.

“If we don’t, we’re stuck at sublight, which is not really ideal if the Alliance catches up to us.” Sharon picked up her previously discarded shirt, using it to dab at the streams of sweat that soaked her neck and shoulders.

“We can’t keep relying on Serenity for everything. We need to figure out how to be self-sufficient or we’re going to die out here.” Dee heard Sharon choke on a laugh. “What’s so funny?”

“Weren’t you the one who wanted them to stick around longer after the raid? Kept making eyes at Simon. ‘Dr. Tam, could you make sure it’s not getting infected? Will I be able to see you for a follow-up appointment?’ You can be such a flirt, Dee.”

“Well, excuse me for getting stabbed in the neck,” Dee shot back. “Because becoming Reaver food is definitely one of my hobbies.”

“I’m just saying it’s a little bit hypocritical, that it’s fine to be in touch with Serenity for someone you have the hots for, but not something we genuinely need, like getting our FTLs fixed. Besides, there are plenty of people already on board who can make sure that little nick stays non-septic. I’m pretty sure Hera could help you out.”  

Dee felt her brow furrow and her lips begin to curl into something resembling a sneer. She looked Sharon up and down and noticed that she still carried herself with her weight shifted to one side. The Alliance had screwed her up good, and maybe it was the hypocrite remark, and maybe it was the heat, but it didn’t matter. “How’s your leg doing?”

She was pretty sure Athena would have thrown her over the railing for that one if the door hadn’t swung open. “Hey, how’s it going in here?” Helo asked as he stepped into the room. Dee caught a dangerous glint in Sharon’s eye before she turned to her husband. “Not so great. Don’t know what happened exactly, but it’s a mess in here.”

“We should see if Mal will let us borrow Chief and Kaylee for a while.” Helo turned to look at Dee. “Dee, can you send ‘em a wave?”

She ground her teeth and let out a sharp breath. “Yeah. I’ll get right on that.”

Helo blinked as he watched the death glare that passed between the two women.

Day 8, 1215 hours

“The first thing we should do is sell these old seats for scrap,” Laura said, observing the torn up metal and fabric, which littered the central room. “It should bring in enough money for now.”

“For now,” Gaeta said, from one of the few intact chairs where he sat. “But we’re going to need a steady source of income. Food and fuel aren’t cheap.”

“We managed to sustain forty thousand people for three years, we can sustain thirteen people.” Bill continued to survey the room, for the past hour he’d been pushing to start collecting books whenever they made a trip on world.

“It’s not the same as it was back then. We had food in storage and crews to harvest algae, ships to mine for our fuel and ships to refine them, but it doesn’t work like that anymore.” A sharp edge crept into Gaeta’s voice. He felt Hoshi’s hand on his shoulder and let him take over the conversation for now.

“We’re just lucky this ship recycles its own water, but we’re playing by an entirely different set of rules now. It’s a new game.”

“It’s not a game, Louis!” Gaeta snapped back. “Gods, am I the only one taking this situation seriously?”

“We are all taking this seriously, Mr. Gaeta.” Adama snapped, then winced at breaking his own rule. “Felix. This is a matter of life and death, I just don’t want to resort to bank robbing as a means to support ourselves. Just because the Alliance is a pack of rat bastards, doesn’t mean we make their citizens suffer as a result.”

“Mal isn’t a bank robber. He runs some honest jobs too, and offered to give us a few contacts, which is really generous of him, considering he’s giving up possible jobs for his crew to help us out.” He cast a sideways glance at Louis, expecting some support, but saw instead a roll of the eyes. “What?” he asked dropping his voice to a hush.

Louis shook his head. “It’s nothing.”

“Tell me.”

“I’m just tired of hearing about your little crush on Captain Reynolds.”

“Are we going to do this again?” he said through gritted teeth. “I do not have a crush on Mal.”

“A little bit.”

Day 8, 1230 Hours

Helo opened the door to the nursery to find Hera and Liam on Hera’s bed. The three year old seemed more than happy to be showing off her doll to the child. Against the far wall, he noticed that Gaius Baltar was watching the kids.

“Care to come in out of the insanity?” Gaius asked as Helo stepped into the room, closing the hatch behind him.

“You noticed it too?”

“The fact that the captain alternately seems to want to frak and kill the first mate, that Caprica is down in the engine room with Sharon trying to puzzle out the FTLs because Miss Dualla refuses to call Serenity their assistance, the financial fiasco currently talking place, and the marital problems abounding in the next bunk over? Yes, I noticed.”

Helo sunk down onto one of the beds. “Were we this insane on Galactica?”

“In my experience I’d have to say yes, but with the military regulations flittering about, I think people deluded themselves into feeling more orderly.”

Helo couldn’t help but smile. “Could do with a bit of that delusion right now. Anyways, if you want to take off I can watch the kids.”

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to stay actually.” Gaius took up a seat next to Helo. “I never once pictured myself as wanting children some day, but the day that we found Hera after her adoptive mother died on New Caprica, I felt… connected.” He frowned softly. “That sounds incredibly absurd now that I say that out loud.”

“Forget about it,” Helo brushed it off. “It’s just us out here now, kind of one big family anyway. One… big… highly dysfunctional family.”

“Most tend to be.”

It was at that moment that Hera let out a loud, high-pitched shriek. Helo looked up to see that the infant had taken her doll, and the baby’s expression faded quickly from elated by the object to bawling in distress from Hera’s cries.

“Okay… that’s it.” Helo said, getting up and abruptly leaving with the room, missing Gaius’s wide-eyed panic at being left with two screaming children. 

Day 8, 1830 hours

Kara had been lying in her bunk at the time. The intercom had clicked on and Helo’s voice came on, telling everyone to report to the big empty room RFN. Hauling herself out of bed, she climbed the stairs to find several mattresses arranged in large circle, within the circle were the random assorted bowls and utensils she had managed to store away in the kitchen. The others all sort of stood about, not really sure what to make of the situation.

“What’s going on here?” she asked, folding her arms over her chest. It was then that she caught sight of Helo walking up from the kitchen, a large pot in his hands and an apron tied around his waist.

“Everyone’s seats are marked. Find your name and sit down.” Helo said voice firmly commanding, placing the pot in the middle of the circle. “We are going to have a civilized meal together, and we are going to be happy about it.”

Kara arched an eyebrow but the grumble of her stomach made her stop to think about the last time she’d actually bothered to eat. With a bit of a resigned huff she took found her assigned seat, and plopped down on the mattress. All around the circle the others followed suit. Lee, Baltar, Roslin, Hoshi, Gaeta, Adama, Tigh, Ellen, Caprica- baby Liam on her lap, Helo, Hera, Sharon, and Dee.

For the first ten minutes, they passed around the pot, dishing out the stew that had been prepared, but otherwise an uneasy hush pervaded the room, until the silence became almost unbearable. This was Helo’s evening and he seemed dead set on making it work out. “So…” he started. “Chief’s getting married again.”

The room teetered on the brink of awkward silence once again, but was saved at the last moment by Adama. “Good for him; he deserves some happiness after all he’s been through.”

“I think we all deserve a little happiness,” Laura said, bringing a spoonful of stew to her lips.

Dee pushed her spoon around in her bowl. “I’m actually looking forward to seeing the crew from Serenity again. They’ve been so good to us since we got here, I just feel like we tend to mooch off of them.”

“Well, they stole our best mechanic,” Gaeta said with a smile, gesturing in the air with his spoon.  “Fair’s fair.”

“We’re doing the best we can under the circumstances,” Caprica said, adjusting Liam in her arms so that she could eat. “Sharon and I have managed to get the drive somewhat operational again. It should hold for one jump, so we should save that in case of an emergency.”

“That’s great,” Dee said turning to Sharon. “And I’ll send a wave over to Serenity in the morning, see if they can help us out.”

Sharon smiled and spoke with a bit of a sing-song, “You just want to see Dr. Tam again.”

Dee’s cheeks flushed bright red at the mention, which elicited a round of laughter. Hoshi turned to Gaeta with a playful smile, nudging him with his elbow. “She has better taste than you do.”

“I knew you weren’t crushless.” Gaeta nudged him right back.

Kara looked over to see Liam squirming in Caprica’s arm, tiny hands reaching out towards Ellen.

“I think he wants you to hold him,” Caprica said, glancing towards Ellen.

The older woman’s eyes traveled from Caprica, to the baby, to her husband, and back to the baby. “Alright, just for a minute.” She tentatively took the baby into her arms, and his fussiness faded almost instantly. Kara watched as Ellen stared down into the tiny face, her own not revealing any sort of emotion. After about a minute, Ellen spoke without breaking eye contact with the baby. “He has your eyes, Saul.” A smile made it’s way onto her face as she spoke.

Tigh gave a laugh as he reached for his drink. “Nah he doesn’t. If he did, he’d only have one of them.” Another round of laughter erupted. Helo glanced across the circle and Gaius looked back at him, nodding in approval of the evening’s events.

“We should do something after dinner,” Lee spoke up, placing his spoon in his now empty bowl.

Kara glanced over at him and smiled, “We have the pyramid ball downstairs. No court, but we could go down and toss the ball around for a while.”

“Sounds like fun,” Helo said, tossing a grin towards Kara.

“Yeah, I’m in,” Dee chimed in.

Caprica glanced at Gaius, who gave her a ‘You must be kidding’ look, which earned him an, ‘oh, come on’ in return. Finally, he gave an eyeroll of ‘alright,’ and Caprica turned back towards Lee. “May we join you?”

“Yeah, this is for everyone,” he said.

“Guess I’ll keep score,” Gaeta offered.

“I think I’m going to sit this one out,” Adama said.

“Us old people can watch the kids while you play,” Laura chimed in with a light chuckle.

“Free play or teams?” Sharon asked, as she got up from her seat.

Kara rose to her feet as well. “Teams.”

“Where’s the fun without little competition?” Lee agreed as he and the others all followed suit. “Four on four then?”

“Team Captains will be me and Dee,” Kara called as she headed for stairs.

“I don’t get to be a captain?” Lee asked, following at her heels.

Kara shook her head, grinning. “Nope, you’re on my team.”

As the nine of them headed down to the cargo hold, Kara watched Helo grinning smugly out of the corner of her eye. Apparently, this evening had gone 100% according to his plan.

 

\--End--


End file.
